Virginia Tech never has been a haven for five-star football prospects. Indeed, Frank Beamer’s renowned program is rooted in sage evaluation and effective talent development.

In short, the typical Hokies recruit gets bigger, stronger, faster and better – often in a hurry. Two-star afterthoughts such as Danny Coale, Rashad Carmichael, Branden Ore, David Clowney and Josh Hyman are classic examples.

Which brings us to cornerback Kendall Fuller’s commitment to Tech on Sunday. As rated by Rivals.com, he’s a five-star prospect from Our Lady of Good Counsel, a private-school power in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C.

According to Rivals’ database, Fuller would be, presuming he honors his pledge, only the fourth five-star, and the first from out-of-state, to sign with the Hokies in the last 12 classes. Each of the others made first-team All-ACC.

Fuller, by the way, is the second five-star ACC pledge for 2013, joining Clemson-bound defensive end Robert Nkemdiche. With two brothers on Virginia Tech’s roster, cornerback Kyle and receiver Corey, and another who played for the Hokies before heading to the NFL (defensive back Vinnie), Fuller’s decision was hardly a surprise.

Also not surprising, given their recruiting base and national-championship heritage: Florida State and Miami lure many more Rivals five-stars than Virginia Tech, or anyone else in the ACC for that matter.

What’s interesting, and amazing in Florida State’s case, is to see how many of those acclaimed signees lived up to the hype and became first-team all-conference players.

Rivals’ database dates to 2002, and if you include commitments for 2013 such as Fuller, that’s 12 recruiting classes. During that span, 68 five-star prospects chose ACC schools.